


How Much is that Doggy in the Window

by isabeau25



Series: Paladins and their Pets [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-09-30 19:37:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10170311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isabeau25/pseuds/isabeau25
Summary: Prequel to "What Every Little Kid Wants." Keith finds Shiro's birthday present and the rest of the team makes sure it will work out the way he thinks it will.





	

“Keith, we’re heading back to the castle. Time to go,” Lance sauntered up to him, “what’s keeping you?”

Keith didn’t answer, his stare fixed on the large shop window.

“What are you…?” Lance peered over his shoulder, then blinked.

It was a pet shop, apparently, and there were what appeared to be puppies in the window. Fluffy, brightly colored, alien puppies.

“Do you want a puppy for your birthday?” Lance nudged Keith with his shoulder.

“What?” Keith blinked and finally turned to look at him.

“Those are so cute!” Pidge pushed in front of Keith, smashing her face against the window, “their fur looks so soft.”

“Why are there puppies in space?” Hunk frowned at the puppies as they tumbled happily over each other and crowded against the window, tails wagging.

“Convergent evolution,” Lance shrugged.

“But they’re not really dogs,” Hunk leaned over Keith’s shoulder, “for all we know, they’re like food or something.”

“I am not eating anything that cute,” Pidge turned away from the glass to glare at Hunk.

“I didn’t say we should,” Hunk held his hands up defensively, “just that maybe the aliens here do.”

“I’m pretty sure this is a pet store,” Lance stood on his toes so he could see over the back wall of the puppies’ enclosure into the store, “also, you’ve seen cows; they’re adorable, and that doesn’t stop you from eating hamburgers.”

“Don’t tell me that,” Pidge covered her ears and stuck her tongue out at him, then went back to looking at the puppies.

“Mmm, hamburgers,” Hunk sighed.

“Seriously?” Lance raised an eyebrow at him, “we’re not eating the space puppies.”

“I didn’t mean that,” Hunk gave him an offended look.

“I’m getting one for Shiro,” Keith ignored them completely, turning away from the window to push open the door to the store.

His teammates blinked at each other, then hurried after him.

“We don’t even know if we can take care of a space puppy,” Hunk protested, “what do they eat? What if they grow up to be huge monsters?”

“What if they have weird alien powers and can teleport or control minds?” Pidge pipped up.

“Okay, all of that,” Lance waved his hand dismissively at them, “but also, why?”

“Shiro’s birthday is in about a week,” Keith strode over to the puppy enclosure, leaning on the edge and looking down at them, “and he likes dogs.”

The puppies tumbled over each other, crowding against the wall and jumping up eagerly for attention from Keith. He smiled softly and reached down to scratch their ears and pet their heads.

“A puppy would be an awesome birthday present,” Lance admitted.

“Well, yeah, but how would we…” Hunk reached down tentatively to let the puppies smell his hand.

Keith’s comm beeped, and they all jumped. Keith glanced at the display on his wrist.

“It’s Shiro,” he frowned.

“Right,” Lance nodded, “because we were supposed to be finding you so we can leave.”

“So you guys cover for me while I get the puppy,” Keith reached down to pet the puppies again.

“But what about the other stuff,” Hunk protested, “what will we feed it, and what if it grows up to eat us?”

“It’s not going to eat us,” Keith rolled his eyes.

“I think Shiro needs a puppy,” Lance put in, “also, you should answer your comm before he comes looking.”

“Right,” Keith turned his comm on, “hey.”

“Hey, are the others with you?” Shiro answered, “they said they were going to find you. We’re heading back.”

“Yeah, they’re here,” Keith raised an eyebrow at Pidge, who had clamped her hand over Lance’s mouth to muffle his laughter, “we’re heading back. We’ll meet you at the castle.”

“Got it,” Shiro didn’t sound at all suspicious of anything, “see you soon.”

Keith clicked the comm off and eyed his teammates.

“So you’re getting Shiro a puppy,” Hunk sighed.

“Yeah,” Keith nodded.

“And you want to keep it hidden on the ship for a week,” Lance peeled Pidge’s hand away from his mouth.

“Yeah,” Keith nodded again.

“And you probably need our help with that,” Pidge concluded.

“Yeah,” Keith admitted, “so?”

“I’m in,” Lance said without hesitation.

“Yeah, definitely,” Hunk nodded, “we should find out what they eat though.”

“I can’t wait to see Shiro’s face,” Pidge grinned.

Keith smiled back at them.

“So, Hunk and I will make sure Shiro’s birthday present won’t kill us or die,” Lance gestured towards the clerk, who was watching them with a combination of amusement and wariness, “Pidge will distract Shiro so we can sneak it in, and Keith can pick out which one.”

“Why do I have to distract Shiro?” Pidge pouted.

“Because he likes you better,” Lance turned her around and gave her a push to the door, “and by some miracle, he hasn’t figured out yet that you’re actually evil.”

“Fine,” Pidge huffed, “just remember to ask about weird alien powers.”

Pidge left, and Hunk nudged Keith back towards the puppies, then joined Lance in talking to the clerk.

Keith smiled fondly at his teammates, then turned his attention back to the puppies. They had floppy ears and dark, soft eyes, with curly fur in all sorts of bright color marked through with highlights. They all seemed happy and eager for attention, and Keith leaned over the enclosure wall, playing with them with some of the toys that were laying around.

Eventually, most of the puppies lost interest in Keith and wandered away to play with each other, eat, or sleep. Except for one. A black puppy with teal highlight in its fur continued to come back to Keith for ear scratches and attention. It seemed calmer than the other puppies, and its tail constantly wagged happily.

Keith reached down and scooped the black puppy up, cuddling it against his chest, and the puppy licked his face, making him laugh. It was going to be a perfect puppy for Shiro.

He joined Hunk and Lance at the counter, puppy in his arms, and they both glanced over and grinned.

“This one,” Keith said confidently.

The puppy barked in agreement, tail wagging so hard its body shook, and Keith was sure that this year Shiro was going to have an excellent birthday.


End file.
